The Bahamas Film Commission, a division within the Ministry of Tourism, will hold its annual Film and Television Workshop in the Royal Palm Room of the Westin Hotel at Our Lucaya on Thursday, June 9, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe will be the featured speaker and will provide a summary of the government’s direction for the film industry. Other speakers will include Maria Chavez, a top locations scout from Florida; Cornelius McKinney, background casting production assistant for ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3;’ and Bahamian actor and producer Calvin Lockhart.
Grand Bahama Film Office Manager Donna Mackey said in a press release, “The purpose of this workshop is twofold: Firstly, to serve as a distance education programme for persons in our budding film industry interested in the enhancement of their skills in the film industry.
“And secondly, to serve as a pre-production briefing for those Bahamians who will be working on the Disney film ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3’ to be shot on Grand Bahama Island using the Gold Rock Creek Collyer Tank facility.”
Soon to be completed, the Collyer Tank will be the first of its kind in the entire Bahamas, being capable of producing man-made waves, simulating natural weather effects, and hosting large vessels. As opposed to the open ocean, the indoor facility is more favourable because of its ability to produce desired weather effects at will, ultimately resulting in quicker filming time.
Construction of the multi-million-dollar Collyer Tank was almost discontinued last month when a few irate residents of Freetown began complaining that their only source of fresh drinking water was being diverted into the nearby ocean on a daily basis. But High Rock MP Kenneth Russell quickly stepped in to bring about a resolution.
During an emergency town meeting held last month at the Genius Cooper Auditorium to figure out a way to appease both the complaining residents and the Collyer Tank’s developers, Gold Rock Creek Enterprises Ltd., these agreements were reached: “The company would work with the residents in continuous review of their water system, and if anything needs to be done to assist them with restoring their systems, the company is prepared to do that. The residents want to see the environmental impact study in any kind of approval that the government has made, and I promised them that I will try and get that,” Mr. Russell had said.
“We also agreed that I would continue to monitor the situation to ensure that what we agreed to on Thursday night (April 21) is carried out. And last but not least, the company has agreed to do whatever they can to speed up the process so that they can close these veins of water running out in the direction it is.”
Individuals in favour of the Collyer Tank construction are optimistic that once it is completed, it will generate a much needed boost for Grand Bahama’s challenged economy.
By JEREMY FRANCIS, Freeport News Reporter
